Chapter 6
Jimmy had seemed a little preoccupied since coming back from the hospital. He had not heard Ducky call him for what would have been the second time.
"Mr.Palmer!" Ducky repeated.
"Sorry, Doctor." Palmer said, giving Ducky his full attention.
"What, my I ask, is troubling you, dear boy?"
"It's...it's nothing."
"If it is bothering you this much, it must be something." Ducky replied.
"I...I overheard something...when I was at the hospital. It was between Ziva and Tim."
"What was it, dear boy?" Ducky coaxed.
"Ziva said we must destroy the wiretap." Jimmy finally reluctantly admitted. "Tony was wearing a wiretap when he got shot."
"Yes, he was." Ducky agreed.
"So...But she could not have been talking about Tony." Jimmy said, pacing, then he stopped. "Could she?"
"I don't know, dear boy." Ducky said, now equally troubled, but hopeful it meant nothing.
Jimmy sighed and leaned against an autopsy table. "What if it's nothing? I mean they could have been talking about a past case. And maybe I misunderstood. I wasn't standing that close to them. Maybe she said someone else destroyed a wiretap, a suspect or something. Maybe it was someone from another agency, FBI, CIA who destroyed it." Jimmy paused. "It could have been anything, right?"
Ducky nodded. "It could have been." He studied Jimmy for a moment. "Is there more?"
"Again, probably nothing."
"Out with it, Mr. Palmer." Ducky requested.
"I saw Ziva go into Tony's room...."
"Okay," Ducky encouraged. "...nothing strange there. They are partners."
"She was looking around, acting as if she didn't want to be seen." Palmer explained.
"But you saw her?"
Jimmy nodded. "I was at the nurses' station, talking to a fellow student. He had let me in to see Tony a few moments earlier." Jimmy paused. "I turned my back to her so she would not see me when she went in. I knew I would blend in with the staff in my scrubs. I then watched her in the room. She bend down over Tony. She appeared to be talking to him, whispering in his ear. She didn't stay long. I would say no more than 3 or 4 minutes. I turned around again when she left the room so she wouldn't see me."
"That is very peculiar." Ducky said, shaking his head. "If Ziva had wanted to talk to Anthony, why not wait until he was fully awake? And why sneak in? If that is, indeed, what she did?"
"If it's nothing...." Jimmy started.
Ducky didn't say anything this time.
"But that's not for me to decide, is it?" Jimmy realized.
Ducky shook his head. "No, Mr. Palmer, it is not." Ducky clapped Jimmy on the back. "We'll talk to him together, don't worry." Ducky then dial Gibbs' number.
NCIS NCIS NCIS
Abby was practically buzzing when Gibbs walked into the lab. He didn't know it if was the caffeine, or what she had found.
"He's ok, right?" Abby asked. "I can go see him, right."
Gibbs nodded.
Abby smiled. "Good." Abby paused, taking a breath. "Okay, here's what I found. It's hinky, Bossman...really hinky. There was no damage to the outside of the wiretap itself. There were no scratches, no nicks, no dents in the casing. Nothing. I checked it out thoroughly under a magnifying glass."
Gibbs gave her his look.
"I'm getting there, Gibbs." Abby promised. "But, when I opened the casing..." Abby brought Gibbs over to the table where the wiretap lay. Abby picked it up. "...if you can see it, the wire is pulled away from the microphone. I...it was not like this when I checked it, Gibbs. There is no external damage that could be done to cause this internal damage. There is no way to just take the wire and jerk it like this appears to have been done. The casing would have come off first. The casing is tight to prevent such an 'accidental' occurrence. Pulling the wire would have opened the casing before it disconnected the wire. And taps are a pain to open." Abby held the tap up to the light. "This wiretap is useless. It will not function." Abby began to get emotional. "I wouldn't send Tony out with something like this."
Gibbs kissed her cheek. "I know you wouldn't, Abs. And you didn't. I was here when you checked the tap. I saw that it was working, too."
Abby wiped her eyes and Gibbs turned to leave.
"Wait, Tony said that there was static on the tap. He could hear that faint noise. He knew it was working."
Abby shook her head. "Not this tap." Abby said, the tap still in her hand. "It's completely nonfunctioning." Abby paused. "Oh, and the tape Tim and Ziva brought in. There is segment where the sound quality is different. I listened to the whole tape and the static fluctuates evenly, except when I get to that one section." Abby has set the tape up for Gibbs to hear the difference. She pressed play.
Gibbs listened to the selection. He nodded. He could hear what she was talking about. it seemed as if it had been recorded over.
Abby continued. "The static is constant and the sound quality if different. It is almost as if something else is causing the static in that section. It does not match the sound on the tape before it or after it." Abby said, concluding her findings.
Gibbs nodded, he didn't know what to think of what had just heard. And things would only get more confusing after he answered the call that came in seconds later.
End note: I know absolutely nothing about wiretaps. I am assuming, though, that there is some sort of faint, very faint, humming, static noise. That is the only way I can think of for Tony to know that tap is working, for sure. Please forgive my ignorance on the subject.
TBC
Static by jackilee71